


tell me the world's alright

by Thestorans



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, Far From Home didn't happen but its basically a rewrite of a different post-endgame, Fluff, Kidnapping, Marvel Universe, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Slow Burn, Spider-Man - Freeform, Violence, stark daughter, stark reader, the next tony stark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:19:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22270162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thestorans/pseuds/Thestorans
Summary: After the blip and when everyone including you disappeared, you realized that things weren't as safe as you thought. Even under your father's iron wing, you knew the world was going to be a very dangerous place.
Relationships: Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 13





	1. new shapes

**Author's Note:**

> finally, I'm here with another story! I'm doing something totally different to what I usually write so hopefully this all works out for me. I'd love some feedback!

The web fluid bubbled from the heat as you squinted down at the suit in front of you. The wires were so small and delicate you had to have stupid magnifying eye-glasses on that were heavy along the bridge of your nose. It caused your gloved finger to flick at the frame to push it back up because of how much it slid down.

“Come on,” you mumbled. Your lip was raw from biting it so much, your muscles were sore, but you were so close you could see the finish line. This was something that not even your father was able to do, with constant trial-runs and annoying training sessions that end in failures. But the answer hits you at the strangest times.

In particular, this time it was when you were eating dinner. Pepper and Tony were sat between you arguing as you sat at the end of the unnecessarily large dining room table. You picked at the last of your roasted red peppers, and just one flick of your wrist and a glance down at one pepper slipping off the plate and landing on the table, it came to you.

So now you’re here, and you won’t let either of your parents into the room. Pepper is more worried, her knocking becoming so frantic you had to yell at her to back off. You’re in a zone, another world where finally, finally you can get Peter the suit that he needs to survive anything that comes his way.

It’s one spark from the wire as you connect it to your new design when the suit came to life in color. It illuminated the room, his spider symbol in the middle shining onto the ceiling. It was brighter, everything was, something that reminded you of Black Panther’s suit, but minus the vibranium.

“Oh my god.” You had to chuckle at yourself, hands throwing the magnifying glasses onto the lab table and pushing your stool away so you could stand back and stare at your invention.

Peter can now heal ten times faster, you’ve managed to mix his DNA in with the suit to cause triple the amount of cell healing. A bullet is just a scratch, a machine gun is a bruise. Everything that can kill a human being in one go will be nothing to him.

“Y/N” It’s Tony this time, probably being forced by your mother to do the parenting now. But you’re smiling ear to ear, eyes watering with joy as you witness the thing you’ve been struggling with for months since the blip.

“Listen kid your mom is raging at me right now cause of you and I’d appreciate if you’d come out and give her some reassurance you’re all good.” You blink slowly out of your daze, now moving towards the suit again to power it off and place it on the charger.

“And uhm, if you don’t come out soon I’m blasting my way in and I’m taking the damage costs out of your bank account.”

You giggle at that, quickly fixing up the suit and cleaning up the area before rushing towards the laboratory door and unlocking it. You open it to see Tony leaning against the door frame, one of his brows immediately raising at your lab coat and gloves.

“What’s up, Einstein?” His question makes you roll your eyes, and you don’t say a word to him as you maneuver around his body to get upstairs. He’s hot on your heals though. You can just feel the irritation radiating off him.

“I don’t really appreciate the silence after you’ve just come out of my laboratory looking like you’ve just cured cancer. Mind sharing with the man paying for your equipment?” He’s on thin ice, and Tony knows how to pick and prod at your emotions until you spill the beans. But you feel like you’re floating on a cloud right now. You don’t really know what to say, who to tell.

Well, you know exactly who you’re going to tell. But that person isn’t present at the moment. He’s probably studying for a biology quiz or swinging across the city.

“I-I just need time to think.” You say without faltering your steps up the stairs and towards the kitchen where you see your mother gathering dishes and placing them in the dishwasher.

“That’s great, wonderful.” The sarcasm is dripping from your father’s mouth, but that’s the usual. You ignore it easily, moving towards the trash can near the dishwasher to throw your gloves inside just so Pepper can see you have finally exited your little cave.

“Jesus, finally.” Pepper breaths out as she drops one of the plates a little too roughly into the wrack before maneuvering around it to give you a hug. It’s a short pulse before she’s putting you at arm’s length to give you that disturbing stare where she looks inside you and at your soul. It makes you shiver, and you prepare for what’s bound to happen next.

“You scared me by just getting up and leaving like that. Especially going downstairs to lock yourself in that lab.” She shakes you a bit, and you place your hands onto her own that are squeezing at your shoulders.

“I’m sorry, it’s just-”

“It better not be anything to do with Parker and that damn suit. I told you I would handle that.” Tony cuts you off, and that throws you off completely. Well, not completely. You know your father doesn’t like you involved with his…other work. But Peter was your best friend and someone that you couldn’t risk losing.

After the blip and when everyone including you disappeared, you realized that things weren’t really as safe as you thought. Even under your father’s iron wing, you knew the world was going to be a very dangerous place.

You needed to step in.

“Dad, you know I can’t just back off from this…” You glare at him over Pepper’s shoulder. He glared back with just as much force.

“It’s easy, especially when you have school and work and friends to hang out with. You have something called a life and this,” he motions with his hands towards you and your lab coat, “is not your life.”

That makes your jaw clench. He doesn’t really have the right to own your life. But apparently, since he owns basically everything in the world, he’s entitled to own you too.

“God, I’m not one of your toys. You can’t just program me to do what you want, not this time.” You throw your hands in the air and shift out of your mother’s hold. Pepper looks upset, torn between the fight with her brows furrowed and lips tight.

“Oh don’t bring out the ownership card again Y/N Stark. You know the only reason I’m doing this is to-”

“Protect me!” You yell, stopping your stomp out of the kitchen to twirl around and point an accusing finger right at your father’s reactor. He blinks at you, surprised but still showing the sparks of anger flowing through him.

You don’t allow him to speak again. You’re grabbing your coat and shuffling on your shoes before he can even blurt out another snarky remark.

“Y/N,” it’s Pepper this time, eyes wide and concerned as she rushes into the front hallway where you stood with the front door slightly ajar. You halt in the middle of your exit to stare back at her, listening.

“If you’re going to him, please, just be careful. Call me.”

That’s enough to make you nod with the smallest smile before you slip out and slam the door behind you.

-

You could’ve taken the car to Peter’s house. But grabbing the keys would’ve started another argument on top of the one you and your father were already having, so you settled for the bus pass you had still stuffed in the pocket of your coat.

It was nice for a change too, to see the world around you without focusing on the road and bad drivers. Everything kind of passed by you in a blur, and now you can sit with your forehead smooshed against the glass of the bus as you travel to the apartment you know all too well.

The next stop echoes throughout the speakers in the almost empty bus. You gather yourself up to walk towards the door. The driver waves his hand as a goodbye before you step off into the night once again, but this time in front of your best friend’s apartment.

It’s dark and gloomy with the constant police sirens blaring in the distance. You always blink up at the night sky, just to see if you could catch the blur of a red and blue suit or the remnants of webs along the building walls. Nothing tonight, maybe he was too caught up on homework.

It’s only five long strides before you’re inside the building. You hated the look of it every time, but it was almost soothing. A home away from home. It was a breath of fresh air from the million-dollar technology and new-world atmosphere that you were surrounded by because of your father. This reminded you of reality, a normal person’s life.

Maybe May would be home, she should be with how late it is. But she works late a lot and sometimes spends…quality time with Happy at his house.

You don’t judge, Happy deserves a beautiful and kind person like her.

The elevator dings as it opens and you make your way inside, the world being pressed on fast forward as you zone out. When you have to lift your hand to knock on the door you feel yourself coming back down to Earth.

You hear footsteps, and now May is opening the door in Spider-Man pj’s. Of course.

She looked annoyed, but it quickly turned into the softest smile as she looked you in the eyes. It’s not rare for you to come at this time of night, and all she does is nod her head into the direction of the man you’re looking for.

“Guess you can’t climb up the side of the building and into Peter’s room, can you?” She makes that joke almost every time, and, of course, you laugh at it no matter how many times you hear it. Your giggles make her smile grow a little wider, and the two wrinkles at the sides of her eyes turn to four with happiness.

“Peter wouldn’t mind me as his sidekick.” You joke, waiting for her to open the door wider and do her little nod. She does it almost on queue, and you smile before giving her a side-hug and a wet smooch on the cheek.

As you make your way towards the bedroom door with a chemistry poster taped onto the front of it, you can see the glooming light of his iron spider suit charging on its dock. You remembered watching your father make that, having a laugh when it malfunctioned and made the little arms come retracting out from the back of it to strike the tables, denting them and making Pepper severely annoyed.

It was such good times, such good inventions. But those were all the memories made by Tony. Why couldn’t you be the next Tony Stark?

“Peter?” You knock lightly, grabbing at the knob and pushing it slightly until you were looking into your friend’s room. It was clean, usually that way because of how much of a nerd Peter was about cleanliness, but you could still see the walls covered in trails of newspapers and red strings, photographs of missing people and all-too-familiar evil faces. It was a neat mess, and that’s the best way you could describe it.

Peter was sat at his desk, and he whipped around in the office chair. He smiled, that same soft smile May gave you, always welcoming. There is pen and highlighter ink all over his wrists and hands, and you sneak a look to see that you were very correct. Biology quiz and he’s apparently on question ten.

“Seem’s like you’ve been busy. Set the suit aside for the night?” Peter chuckled at your observation, his eyes flickering to his closet where his other suit was hung neatly on its own special hanger. Curtesy of May.

“May saw my marks last term, she would kill me if I didn’t pass this year. I don’t need to be pushed back another year, the blip already did that for me.” He scratched at his head, which he always did when he was nervous. He never fails to do it around you, you’ve noticed.

“You seem to forget you’re not the only hero in the world, I’m sure Queen’s can handle a night without The Spider crawling around.” He rolls his eyes at the nickname, moving to return to his work that you know he won’t do while you’re around. He just taps the end of his pen on his notebook, chewing on his lip and staring up at his collection of newspapers.

But he seems to freeze, the pen being settled down onto his desk as he slowly turns himself back around. This time he’s in hero mode, you can tell by the glisten in his eyes, the purse of his lips and the shadow that seems to cast across his face.

God, you pay way too much attention to this boy.

“What’s wrong?” He raises a brow, brown eyes scanning the lab coat you know he notices.

You laugh almost too loudly at his concerns. How could you have thought the best way to run from your problems was to run right into a man with a spidey sense?

Your eyes meet the ceiling, trying to think of what to say. No lies will work, and beating around the bush won’t work either. You are trapped in the webs of Spider-Man once again, and all you can do is stare right back into his eyes and tell him the truth.

“I did it.” You say bluntly, shoulders dropping as if you released ten pounds off your shoulders. He looks just as more confused, now leaning his elbows onto his knees to stare into your eyes, even deeper than before. It sends shivers down your spine, but you continue.

“You know how we wanted to figure out how to heal you faster? Like you had bulletproof skin? Well, I figured out how to connect your DNA cells with the suit…they are completely compatible and I scanned everything, checked my blueprints, did tests on the suit and…Pete, I think I did it.”

Your smile is wide, hands high in the air and body feeling like it’s on cloud nine. But your mood drops drastically, just like at your house, when you see Peter’s face fall and eyes sadden.

“What?” Your tone is snippy, but you’re tired. You thought out of everyone, Peter would be by your side in this. That’s why you came here in the first place, to feel like you actually succeeded.

But Tony has a tight grip on Spider-Man and has been warning Peter about your plans. That can be the only explanation with your friend’s reaction.

Your blood boils.

“Y/N this is dangerous stuff you’re getting yourself into…” before Peter even finished his sentence you were standing up and shaking your head, a loud and frustrated huff passing your lips.

“You seem to forget my own father is Tony Stark aka Iron Man, one of the leaders of The Avengers who has created the most dangerous and successful high-tech weaponry for the United States.” You turn sharply on your heals to glare at your friend, but Peter doesn’t look fazed at all.

But he also isn’t looking at you, his eyes staring down at the ground so deeply it’s almost like he could break the floorboards with the gaze alone.

“Which means he has his enemies. Probably more than any of The Avengers combined.” Peter stands up, and he’s towering over you, finally meeting your eyes. They aren’t angry, but more sympathetic.

But the last thing you need is sympathy right now.

“I did this for you.” You growl out, pointing your finger into his chest, rough enough to push him back the slightest bit. It’s funny because you knew that would’ve done nothing to him, but Peter Parker has his guard down completely with you.

He’s not looking at you again and it looks like he is fighting something. A battle is going down in his mind, and you can only imagine what Tony said to him to make him feel like this.

And you didn’t think you could get any angrier at your father.

“What did he say to you?” Your voice is wobbly now. You can feel the tough-girl shield you had surrounded yourself in flicker away and weaken. You’ve been able to hold it all in for a year now, but your weakness is standing right in front of you.

“I-”

“What did he say to you, Pete?” You cut him off, voice growing louder. You know May is bound to hear you both soon and that’s going to be another mess in itself. She’ll probably sit you both down on the sofa to ‘talk it out.’ Oh god, she may even call Happy.

“He said enough to make me worried about your safety, Y/N. If you dive too deep into my life you’re gonna get hurt and everything is still on high alert after Thanos.”

“Which is a perfectly good reason to have this suit!” You retaliate. You try to keep your voice quiet, keeping an eye on the bottom of the door to watch for the shadow of May’s footsteps.

“They’re gonna find out how much you’re doing for weaponry, what you’re inventing for Tony and being in his place.” You roll your eyes and turn away from him to stare out his bedroom window, glaring down at the city below. He keeps talking.

“They know he’s your weakness, they know you’re my friend. God, you’re lucky people haven’t kidnapped you simply because you’re Tony Stark’s daughter. But now you’re not only that but an inventor of something that could heal people?”

You feel his presence grow closer behind you, and now his face is in the reflection of the window, still sympathetic.

“It can’t heal everyone, I haven’t gotten that far yet.” You mumble under your breath, meeting his eyes through the glass.

“And you won’t.” He replies, and that’s where the conversation ends for you. Peter has picked his side, and that’s all the information you need.

He won’t just let you leave though, and you know this as you take your first step towards his bedroom door. His body steps in front of you, hands coming out to lightly touch your upper arms. You shake him off, shoving past him and stomping your way to the door.

“Y/N.” He huffs out, and you flinch when a web shoots out and sticks to the doorknob before you can grab at it. The door won’t budge, you know how strong that web formula is.

“Don’t leave like this.” You’ve never heard Peter’s voice sound so small before, like a kicked puppy that’s whimpering behind you. You refuse to turn around though, knowing how easily you will cave in if you look into his eyes. You’re a stubborn girl. Pepper said its genetics that made you this solid with your decisions.

“I just want support. You’ve always been on my side through everything.” Your bottom lip wobbles, threatening your walls to break. You start to scan your surroundings, there has to be something in here that can unstick his webs.

“I know you don’t see it, but this is still me being on your side.” He sighs loudly, and you can just tell he’s scratching at his head again. “I just want you alive. You know how close of a call it was with your dad…how much it crushed us all while he was recovering. We can’t go through this again.”

You close your eyes tightly, flashbacks rotating rapidly throughout your mind. So fast as if the damns broke. There are memories of Tony laid out on the special hospital bed in the room made into your house. Half his body being nothing but burns and dead muscle. The way he looked into your eyes and told you this may be it, that you need to take care of Peter and Pepper. The way you sobbed, how hard you cried into Peter’s arms. The way you came back to a ruined world, five years went by and no memory of it.

“You won’t.” That’s all you could say, and you knew if you said anything more you would crumble. You promised yourself you wouldn’t let Peter see you like that again, so vulnerable.

“… at least let me swing you home.” Peter was now beside you, forcing you to look at him. You just knew he could feel your pain, no matter how many concrete walls you built around yourself. You liked to think you were invincible at least.

“I need time to-”

“Y/N.” He interrupts, and you could feel your last shield throwing itself down. Nothing was left between him and your heart.

You nodded silently, allowing him to shuffle on his suit and hoist you up onto his back. You had to admit, you really did like when he took you on swings around the city. Of course, you weren’t scared of heights, you kind of weren’t allowed to since your father went on so many private planes and took you and Pepper on so many vacations. This was just another exhilarating adventure high in the sky, but with just a little more of a breeze on your cheeks.

\- 

He lands on your balcony perfectly, having done it many times before. You can tell your cheeks are red from the cold, and they feel numb as you climb off Peter’s spandex-covered back. You don’t say anything, awkwardly opening your room and clicking on the lights.

He’s still there, mask still on as he stands on the balcony right outside your doors as if he wasn’t allowed in. It almost made you laugh, but you remind yourself you’re mad at him.

You can’t help but give him the smallest smile, gesturing to let him know that he’s allowed to come inside. You can’t help but want to challenge yourself, maybe you could get him to rethink his place in all this, maybe even get him to try on the suit and do a test.

He steps in and waits for you to turn on the darkened setting on the windows from your tablet. He takes off his mask with a huff, hair tangled as usual but easily fixed with a soft swipe of his hand through it.

There’s an awkward silence filled with tension, and you hate it more than anything.

“You know, the suit feels less suffocating now that I’ve gathered lighter materials and technology to fit into it.” You throw him a bone, giving him a sly smile from where you’re hiding behind your tablet as you pretend to search for something.

He just blinks at you, not impressed.

Strike one, but you keep trying.

“It’s got about a hundred new web-shooters compared to the last one.” You set the tablet down, staring at him with wide eyes as if they would hypnotize him and change his mind.

His eyes widen about, but he shakes his head with a huff.

“On top of the already 500 web-shooters stored in there? My head is gonna explode.” That makes you laugh, your body rocking over until you’re kneeling on top of your bed. You crawl towards him and swipe the mask from his hands, running your fingers across the stretchy material and bumps from the web-like stitches.

“You’ve got way better senses than any average human, you can handle a thousand and probably more, but I can’t make up that much different designs yet.” You thumb at the eyes, staring into the plastic eyes.

“I should probably get going, Y/N. Cause, you know, the biology quiz.” He points a thumb behind him towards the balcony, and that’s strike two.

You don’t have much time left, and all you can do now is hold as tightly onto his mask as possible and bolt up from your bed.

“What-what are you doing?” He snorts out a loud laugh when you dangle the mask in front of you from the other side of the room. It is funny to him to see an intelligent being like you thinking they can beat a superhero like him.

“Come on, I need to go. It’s on you if I fail.” He walks forward, one hand coming up to whip out and grab his mask. But he’s not trying, and you easily slip past him and run towards your balcony. You close the doors in front of you, now standing outside and allowing the breeze to coldly cover your body.

You can hear Peter jog over and see his gloved hands touch the glass. The windows are still darkened from the setting you put it on, and all you make out is his silhouette.

“Try the suit on.” You say, loud enough for him to hear from the crack in between the doors. You hold the mask tighter, arms wrapping around it and hugging it into your chest. This is strike three, and you just want him to move past those Tony Stark obstacles in his mind and realize everything is going to be okay.

The doorknob wiggles, then slowly opened until you’re face to face with him. Peter’s eyes soft-always soft-as he looks into your eyes.

“Okay.” He says, and he looks caved-in with weakness. All the energy is taken out of him, surrendering the battle inside his brain. He knows nothing is going to hurt him, that you’re here to help him navigate through this world full of loss.

That makes you smile, your arms coming out to pull Peter in for a quick and tight hug before you grab his hand and rush towards your bedroom door. He shoots a web out to your balcony doors, closing them shut behind you both so unwanted visitors don’t come in. You thank him in your head since there was no time to waste.

Tony and Pepper were still home, but lights were dim and the house was silent. They were either in bed, the living room, or garage. For Tony, the garage sounded more like him. Which made things slightly easier and less worrying if you made some noise.

But now it was the task of getting through Tony’s security and the many cameras and scanners he had littered around your house. The man was paranoid and had every right to be.

Luckily, you were Tony Stark’s daughter, and just as smart and ready for a challenge as him. Plus, if you knew how to make a super healing suit, you definitely knew how to disable a silly little security system.

“You know stealth mode, use it.” You whisper behind him, and Peter rolls his eyes, reluctantly following behind you. He’s like a feather, and it’s really only yourself that you hear with your shoes still on your feet, trying to avoid every loose floorboard and squeak of the bottom of your shoes.

You both make it down the stairs and snake your way through the hallways. You can hear the tv faintly from the living room, some cooking show being played. Pepper, of course.

The basement door is in view, and you take a long stride to the door, hand slowly moving to type in the disabled code to the basement before you rush inside, keeping the door open to let Peter in before you close it behind you both.

You use the second security system inside to lock it behind you, and now you can breathe.

Peter only laughs, but its a nervous one as he descends the stairs in pitch darkness. You don’t worry too much, you know he can see way better than you can.

One last double check is made on the security system before you turn on the lights, allowing the laboratory to be illuminated. You have to squint your eyes at first, adjusting to the light before they land on Peter who is now standing in front of your invention and his newest suit.

He looks in shock, and you quickly rush down the stairs in excitement.

“Thoughts?” You gush out as you gather things for the test, grabbing at a remote and letting glass separating another room from you both open up.

You don’t receive an answer, but you instead sneer at Peter’s wide eyes and open mouth, a hand slowly moving towards the suit as if it was going to come out and bite him. When he did make contact with it, his fingers caressed the material, smoothing down the slight wrinkles in the fabric as he ran them down the chest and arms.

“Try it on.” You say, not caring that your friend was speechless. It was more a compliment towards you and your hard work. You basked in the pride that bulbed up in your body. You needed this.

“I-” He cut himself off, stepping back from the suit and finally meeting your eyes. That battle wasn’t totally over like you thought, and Peter’s eyes flickered nervously around the room.

“Please.” You don’t let him think, quickly grabbing the suit off the charger to throw into his arms. He seemed surprised by the lightness of it and gave it one last look, hesitating, but he was already walking towards the corner of the room.

You knew the drill, so you turned around to give him a small bit of privacy. You needed to set up some sensors and other equipment anyways.

There weren’t any doubts in your mind that this test-run wouldn’t work, from the way everything was compatible and successful with the data you collected and the tech tests you did on your own, you felt confident that this was going to be a breakthrough in your life, and obviously Peter’s.

“Where do you want me?” Peter asked, moving towards the room that was now accessible.

You couldn’t help but stare, almost tearing up with how good the suit looked. It wasn’t too different. It had the same fitted frame, red and blue and the smallest bit of blue embedded into the web design. His eyes were mechanical and had motion sensors just like the one he has now. So very similar, but so very different and the bad guys won’t even see it coming.

“Just over there. There should be an 'X’ on the floor that I’ve taped down.” You point to where you need him, and he quickly steps towards it and stands where you asked. He’s fidgeting and not able to stay still, his knees bopping around and feet shifting. Still so on-edge.

You feel bad, and it doesn’t really calm him down when you start hooking him up to machines and typing away on computers nearby. His spider eyes never leave your form, always observing as you do your finishing touches. You need to move faster than you would like to, but this doesn’t have to be the last test-run.

“Alright, this is just going to be quick, something small that doesn’t freak you out too much.” You move back to the other room, grabbing at a knife from one of the drawers in the lab tables. Peter stiffens, and you can’t help but snort.

“Woah there,” Peter takes the smallest step back, making some of the sensors get caught off guard by his sudden movements. You don’t worry too much about that, they’ll regenerate themselves.

“I’m not gonna stab your heart out, Parker, just give me your hand.” You’re stood in front of him, making sure he is back on top of the 'X’ on the floor before you take his hand in yours. The fabric of the suit is cool to the touch, and his hands twitch in your palm, awaiting whatever comes next.

It’s funny, this boy has had bombs thrown at him, machine guns attempt to shred him apart, and too many close calls with alien devices no one can even identify…but he is still scared of his best friend holding a knife in front of him.

Your hand tightens around the handle, and quickly, before there is too much thinking again, your hand swipe’s down, cutting a thick stripe down his palm.

You both would’ve missed it if you were looking away for just a couple of seconds. Because before you even took the blade off Peter’s skin, it was healing, and by the time you had your hand to the floor, nothing was there. The suit wasn’t even ripped, the cells inside it multiplying and reconstructing themselves until nothing was ever done in the first place.

“Holy shit,” Peter speaks. His voice is wobbly, spider eyes shrinking and widening rapidly as he examines his hand. He balls it up into a fist, shakes it out, and you can tell he doesn’t feel any pain.

“What did it feel like?” You ask anyways, spinning on your heals and rushing towards the equipment to save the data for later. You take a quick glance at each one, and smile at the green word spelling 'success’ displayed on each one.

“It felt like…nothing…maybe a pinch?” Peter takes off the mask, still glaring at his hand in shock.

“That’s good. That’s really good.” You’re smiling from ear to ear, now standing in front of him again. It’s strange how fast the awkwardness clouds over the atmosphere again. You both know the unsolved problem still hanging in the air.

“You really did it, Y/N.” Peter mumbles, but it doesn’t sound happy. God, it sounds almost mournful. It sends your emotions plummeting again.

“I did, and you can use this to stay alive and healthy now. To fight crimes of all kinds.” You say, trying to hold back the frustrated tears building up in your eyes. You just want to scream. You really thought this would win him over.

Peter just shakes his head, not meeting your eyes as he starts to undress the suit.

You don’t watch him as he maneuvers behind you back to the other side of the room. You just blink at the walls, bottom lip wobbling, hands tightening to fists at your sides.

“I really need to get-”

“Just go, Peter.” Your voice is hard, no emotion in your tone. You don’t look at him as you rush up the stairs and turn on all the security but the back door, still in the right mind to let him sneak out.

You can hear him calling your name, but there’s not much he can do when you open the basement door, rushing out and back up the stairs to your own room. He knows the way out, and who knows, maybe he will say hi to your father on the way out since they’re apparently way better friends.


	2. dead in the water

It’s been a week since you’ve talked to Peter or Tony. Pepper, Mj, and Ned are extremely annoyed at your stubborn attitude. But, at the same time they understand. When you push them away from your problems, they give you the same disappointed stare before they leave you be.

Pepper can’t stand your silent treatment towards your father, she’s even given up making dinner since everyone refused to sit at the table as a family. She’s tried to sit you down, she’s even threatened to call Peter and make you talk to him through the phone, but you’ve managed to run away and lock yourself in the room before she gets the chance to hit call.

You kind of hate yourself for being this closed off, but whenever you want to apologize and fill-in the cracks, you remember the suit that’s sitting in your basement unused. Your first invention, a huge milestone, completely ignored and denied to shine. All because people think they can own your life.

So, you gulp back down those ‘I’m sorry’s’ and stand your ground.

But things had to get more complicated and terrifying.

“Y/N?!” Pepper yelps from down the stairs. You’re sat at your desk, nose stuffed in a ‘technology of the future’ book when you hear her cries. It sends your heart jumping into your throat and your stomach twisting into knots.

The chair crashes backward, book flopping to the ground at your feet. Your body rushes forward and you throw open your bedroom door. You can hear faint panting, the sounds of frustrated growls and an all-too-familiar scent of burning flesh. It causes you to gag into your sweater sleeve.

Images flash before your eyes. Tony’s watery eyes, burnt lips whispering your future into the air as if he wasn’t going to be in it. The flesh that pealed from his bones, the muscle that died every day. The way you thought you were going to be fatherless, a daughter lost in a world that her dad formed into a better place.

You almost trip down the stairs, mind wandering with possible scenarios. Tony? Peter? Maybe even Mj and Ned? May? Maybe one of the Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy? It doesn’t matter who, but you know you don’t care what Pepper or Tony says, you’re going to step in and help.

The sight before you had you gasping so loud it felt like your tongue got caught in your throat. Your feet are glued to the floor when you take your last step down the stairs, eyes wide with horror. This shouldn’t be happening.

“P-Peter?”

You don’t trust your voice, sounding breathless when his name passes your lips. It’s like a whisper, but Pepper hears you, her long blonde hair whipping around and wide eyes staring into your own. She’s trying to stay calm, you can tell. She’s been through so much tragedy and close calls throughout her life she’s learned to bottle it all up.

“Y/N.” She cries out, stumbling towards you and trying to give you a hug but your shove past her a little too hard. You don’t know your own strength, right now your mind is spiraling down like an aircraft with one engine. You’re losing air, your fingers are growing numb.

Tony is stood over him at the kitchen table, everything cleared off on the floor. He must’ve not been able to carry him to the lab because of his injuries from the snap. Tony will never regain those muscles back, and he’s left with vine-like designs engraved into his skin throughout this left side.

“Pete!” Tony yells, grabbing a knife from one of the kitchen drawers and starting to cut away at the front of Peter’s suit. It’s already burnt and cut severely, but you know it needs to be completely off so you can tend to his wounds.

It’s horrible, the burns that cover Peter’s body. Blotches of red and black are mostly on his right side, cuts and bruises all over as well. You wonder what the hell he got himself into now.

You don’t think too much though, you can’t in this situation and you know that. Instead, you rush to the lab, grabbing the first aid and burn kits and special serums from the cabinets. You also grab a syringe and put anesthetic inside it.

Suddenly, Peter starts screaming. You can hear his cries and groans from down the steps. They ring in your ears and send shockwaves down your spine. That’s officially the worst sound in the world, and its going to be haunting you in your nightmares for a while now.

“M'coming Parker.” You say under your breath, trying to stop the tremors in your muscles as you cradle everything in your hands up the stairs. His screams echo throughout the house and your brain. God, please let it end.

When you get back to the scene, Pepper is at Peter’s head, one hand pressed against his forehead to hold it still, it being the only place that didn’t have burns on it. Her other hand was placed on his shoulder, petting at it to try and soothe him.

“Y/N’s here with the stuff now Peter, keep looking at me.” You hear her say, but his body seems to shake and squirm more.

You thought you heard him whimper your name under his breath, but you’re too far into the rescue mission to analyze it enough.

Tony is grabbing at the things you pass him, soothing the burns with serums and liquids and everyone wincing at Peter’s screams growing louder. It’s stinging, and your hand moves to grasp the needle of anaesthetic.

“No, not yet. That’s the last resort.” Tony growls out, still throwing things onto Peter’s naked chest, stomach, and arms. Peter is screaming so loud you feel like his throat will tear in two.

“Y/N!” Pepper yells through clenched teeth, and you whip your head over to see her staring at you so hard it feels like she’s ripping your soul out of your body. But you can read her look, and see her flickering her gaze from you to Peter. She wants you to hold him, to calm him.

You don’t even hesitate, dropping everything and rushing to take her place. Now you’re face to face with your best friend once again, but not like you ever thought. In the scenarios that danced in your dreams at night, you thought you would see him at school, or maybe one of your family members or friends would find a way to get you both in the same room. But you never thought like this.

“Pete.” You whisper, blinking back the tears when his wild brown eyes meet yours. Tears are rushing down his face and onto the table, his lips wet with spit and swollen from the wounds.

“I missed you.” His brutal convulsions lesson, but he still kicks and growls. The tears keep streaming like waterfalls, and whenever you wipe them away, new ones flow.

“How was your biology quiz?” You ask, trying not to stutter and allow him to hear your fear. Your hand combs through his hair, it was thick with tar and debris. You notice his top half stops rattling, now down to the level of soft shutters and shakes. His eyes soften and droop with exhaustion, but he still has his eyes on you.

“I-I passed.” He croaks out, barely above a whisper. But you hear him and almost laugh in relief. Your hand moves to his forehead and starts petting it and wiping off the sweat and tears that cake like a second layer on his skin.

“I knew you would.” You smiled while tears sneak out from your own eyes and drip onto his cheeks, he doesn’t even flinch, probably numb towards everything.

“You scared me.” You can’t help but say with wobbly lips and a sob ripping through your throat. It shocks you and even your parents. It makes Tony pause in his frantic aid to look towards you in concern and Pepper to place her hands to her mouth to hold in her cries.

“I’m sorry.” Peter replies, voice sounding more and more faded and distant. That terrifies you, and to keep him awake you lean even more forward towards him, your nose almost touching his forehead as you stare into his eyes.

“Peter you have to stay awake for me, just until we know you’re stable.” He looks drunk with the way his eyes slowly blink. But they stay open and he listens, surprised with how close you have gotten.

You can kick yourself with how awkward things will get between you again later, right now you need to save his life. 

Tony works as hard and as fast as he can, it feels like hours and like time never passes as you stay glued to Peter’s side. You don’t move your face away from his. It scared you to even think about moving your forehead away because of how you could feel his rigid breath against it. You didn’t want that feeling to go away, you needed to know he was alive and stayed that way.

“Y/N.” It was Tony’s voice this time. It broke through the foggy barriers in your mind as you stared into Peter’s eyes and brushed away more tears.

You look up, hooking pieces of your own wet hair out from your face that fell down your cheeks as you cried. Your mom and dad are staring at you, embraced near the end of the table. Tony is covered in Peter’s blood and tar from the fire, eyes watery and mouth tight. A very similar expression that he had when he sat in his own hospital bed, ready to tell you to live the life he could never have.

“Let’s get him into a bed, yea?” Tony said, and you nodded stiffly. That was the last thing said between anyone in the room before you and your father lifted your best friend and brought him up the stairs to the spare bedroom beside yours. You almost wanted Peter to just be in yours since he was more familiar with it. But that would probably cause another argument between you and Tony, and you didn’t have a fight left in you.

Peter was laid out on the bed, now sound asleep with his chest rising and falling in short staggering breaths. A pained expression was still plastered on his face with his eyebrows in a knot along his forehead and lips in a frown, it made you frown back at him.

You felt a hand on your shoulder, tight but loving. You looked towards Tony with tears threatening to fall again.

“He’s going to be okay, kid.” He says with a cracked voice before he leans down to press a kiss to your forehead. You close your eyes so tightly fireworks spark in your eyelids. It was painful to see your father so affectionate, and he really only got like this when things went south.

He left quietly and didn’t ask when you stayed behind. He just shut the door softly and allowed you to get consumed within your own silence. The only thing heard was the sound of Peter’s wheezes and the tick of the clock on the nightstand.

So many ‘what if’s’ flew throughout your mind like rockets, you felt yourself grow dizzy at the thoughts that consumed you. The guilt and the anger and frustration, the sadness and fury and love. All these emotions that didn’t want to organize themselves in your brain. But one reigned supreme over them all.

Peter could’ve been saved by the suit you made for him. If only your father said yes, if only Peter wasn’t following Tony around like a lost dog. If only you pushed Peter a little harder to defile Tony and get him to wear the suit without your father’s agreement. What if they just let you become the inventor you always wanted to be?

Your hand fisted into the covers beside Peter’s body, and you would’ve reached out to grip his hand but the door burst open with May stumbling into the room. She was crying and had red-rimmed eyes as she rushed toward the bed to softly kiss at Peter’s forehead and brush the curls away from his face. She sniffled and mumbled his name over and over under her breath, and you felt that was your queue to get out and give them their space.

But you barely stood up before May snapped her hand towards your wrist and gripped you tightly. It startled you and you almost pulled away, but you quickly met her wide eyes.

“Thank you, Y/N.” She said, desperation and sadness dripping from her voice. This woman has gone through a lot in her life, she’s lost too many people and Peter’s death would break her. You know that for a fact. You can see the cracks forming in her soul, its ready to shatter any second.

There wasn’t anything left to say, and your hand slipped from hers when she loosened her grip. You just gave her a small smile with watery eyes and a wobbling lip before turning on your heels to rush out as if you were running away from a nightmare.

Ned and MJ were stumbling up the stairs when you closed the door behind you, and you could barely say a word before they crashed into your body and buried you in a hug. You could smell the shampoo in Mj’s curls and Ned’s cologne from his shirt. It anchored you and tugged your mind away from the pain surrounding you.

You couldn’t help but start crying again, letting your sobs get muffled into their chests.

-

Everything else was a bit of a blur until the next morning. You don’t remember how you got into your bed, or when Mj got tangled in with you, or how Ned got on the floor beside you, but it made you let out the smallest giggle seeing them both snoring away.

They cared not only about Peter but you, and it was hard to wrap your head around that fact. You know you are loved, of course, but emotions like love and pain are one’s you usually run away from and avoid or see in your nightmares. You hate them, but yesterday all of them came at you at once like a storm of hurricanes and tornadoes.

Your feet danced around Ned’s body, trying not to wake them both up as you rushed out of the bedroom. Your mind immediately went to Peter’s room, and you gave his door a long stare with wide and terrified eyes before you walked over and opened it just a crack.

May was still there, her body laid out on the bed beside him with her cheek smooshed into the pillow. Peter was still on his back, blotches of red burns still scattered along his body. But color was coming back into his skin, and you could see the life back in his cheeks. That gave you some kind of sanity.

There were sounds coming downstairs, and a bang made you whip your head around and close the door so it wouldn’t wake them. Your brows furrowed, and you were immediately rushing down the stairs and making a plan to grab one of your dad’s blasters that he had hidden beside the stove in the kitchen.

More rustling, and your body tensed as you got onto the main floor. You started lifting your heels, moving gracefully across the floors on your tiptoes as you rushed towards the kitchen to grab the weapon. Your heart was beating a hundred miles an hour, hands shaking as you set your fingerprints on the blaster, watching as it connected to your wrist when you identified yourself.

It was coming from the laboratory down below, and you couldn’t help but think of your poor suit that was laid out down there collecting dust. Even though it was a lost cause, you’d rather things your dad could simply make again get destroyed than that.

The door was opened, the light leaking upstairs. But it was when you peaked down the steps that you froze and got even more confused.

It was Tony, your father, frantically moving around the laboratory. In the middle of the room was your suit on display, a mannequin wearing it.

“Dad?” Your voice echoed down the stairs, and you walked down fast, not caring about being quiet anymore. It angered you to see your invention become the center of attention after it being considered trash just a week ago.

Tony wasn’t looking at you, but you could tell he noticed your presence. He was on autopilot, in a headspace that you couldn’t break into.

“Dad, what the hell are you doing?” Your voice grew, and you moved in front of him when he made a move towards the suit. Tony stared down at you and had the audacity to give you a smile before placing his hands on your shoulders, he stared into your eyes for a split second before he maneuvered past you to get back on track.

“I think I deserve an explanation since you’re playing with my-”

“You did tests on this, correct?”

He turned around, tapping a finger on the shoulder of the suit. He was in work mode, and you were the person he was interrogating. His interruption made you simply blink at him in surprise with your mouth hung open, the blaster still alive on your wrist and ready to blow someone up.

“I-Uhm, yes? I made Peter try it on when I met with him a week ago.” You answered timidly.

“Yes I saw the security footage. It worked, correct? Healing that moves at the fastest rate invented, I’m sure.” That made you blush, of course your dad would find out about your schemes. No matter how much you think you know, Tony Stark is one foot in front of you.

“Yes, but-”

“And this was tested on him, fits with his DNA?”

“Dad.”

“Probably able to work against any element…”

“Tony!” You yelled your dad’s name, and that made his eyes snap up towards you. They looked wild and like he barely got any sleep. That worried feeling started to grow in your chest again, you loathed it.

“Correct me if I’m wrong but I remember you completely hating the idea of this project meeting your eyes again and you told Peter about how this suit can’t be used. But now you’re interrogating me about its qualities and testing it yourself like you’re ready to put it on Peter as soon as he wakes up again?” You ranted with hands throwing themselves up in the air in anger and frustration.

“I thought this invention-” Tony cut himself off, eyes freezing into space before he blinked and met your eyes again. “I thought you weren’t ready for this.”

You froze and blinked at him, shocked once again at what came out of his mouth. But really, you shouldn’t be. You knew your father was protective over you since you came into this earth, even your mother protected you with her life. They were scared of what you were capable of, what your future looked like. Once you started picking up lab coats and wrenches instead of dolls and purses, they immediately closed you off to the world but lied and said that it was okay that you wanted to follow in your dad’s footsteps.

They let you work on the Iron man suits, they let you do tests and work with chemicals and help fix cars and engines and weaponry. They didn’t want to say no to your dreams. But also, they didn’t know the answer to give you when you would surely tell them what you want to do next with your skills.

Bad parenting on their part, but hey, you can’t really complain since your life could be a lot worse.

“And now…?” You ask with a shaky voice, flickering your eyes from your dad to the suit.

“Now…” Tony moved away from the suit to stand with you. You both were staring at it, scanning every inch of it and all its glory. Something that, for once, wasn’t made by Tony Stark, but his daughter.

“Now I want your help, and I won’t push you away this time.” You felt his hand move to your back, patting at it softly before he grabbed at your shoulder and pulled you into a tight side-hug. It was that stupid affection again, that bubbly feeling in your gut. You couldn’t help but smile at your father’s words and how much you needed to hear that.

“Peter’s gonna be okay, dad.” You mumble, knowing he needed to hear that too. This probably terrified him to the core, almost losing someone he mentored and took under his wing as a superhero and now an Avenger. Peter dying would break him just as bad as it would break you and May, but Tony would blame it on himself.

That’s probably why he’s agreeing to this, his mind plagued with nightmares all night at the thought of losing Peter to something that could’ve been fixed. You felt bad for him, that man already has enough weight on his shoulders.

Tony let go of your shoulder, now back into his own headspace as he started to go back to rushing around, shuffling through things in drawers and cabinets.

“I’ll start breakfast since moms still in bed, come up soon okay?” You decide to say, not wanting to push him any further about what the future will be with the suit and you. You know there are many things to discuss, but everything still needed to process inside your brain.

You saw him simply nod, still searching through drawers and placing certain things on the countertop. You shook your head in amusement, leaving him to his work as you walked back up the stairs to silence. Everyone was still sleeping, so you had time to put the blaster away and start cooking pancakes.

-

“Peter…” You trailed off, feeling the energy to fight your friend leave your body seeing him finally standing in front of you. He had healed so much, only two days had passed and everything was starting to look normal again. You noticed limping while walking and small sneers of pain on his face when he would get up from his bed, but the progress made you thank all the gods above.

He was getting antsy, the world needed saving and this superhero life was now a drug to him. He needed to be swinging around the city, saving people, making Tony, Happy, and his aunt proud. But it’s like he doesn’t realize it is okay to rest sometimes.

He knows though, that Tony and you are working on something. He knows that you both spend way too much time in the lab. Before he left to go to his own place yesterday, you barely said goodbye to him because you were too busy grabbing things from Tony’s garage. You have five missed calls, only two being from Mj and Ned. The rest are Peter probably wondering what the hell you’ve been doing.

He’s going to find out, right now. It’s final, Tony and you have gathered enough supporting data and did a few more tests to make sure this suit was the best of the best. It was ready to wear, but Peter really wasn’t ready to wear it.

“I’m fine now, Y/N. I’m healing, way faster than you realize. It’s okay.” He assures, wincing when he leans down to grab at his web-shooters from his bedside table. You raise a brow, but he diverts his gaze.

“I know you are, but superheroes need rest too.” You mumble as he straightens back up. He just gives you another one of those golden smiles before brushing past you. You know what he’s going to do. Grab his suit, stuff it in his backpack and pretend he’s going to school when you know that’s the last thing he wants to do, especially when May got him a week off to heal properly.

“Peter listen,” you take a deep breath, shuffling towards him so close it makes him stop his movements to grab at his backpack as you thought. He just blinks at you, and it’s now or never.

“Tony and I have been talking, and we think it’s time for a new suit…” you trail off again, cursing yourself inside your head at how nervous you are. It amazes you how much you want this to work out, how much you need Peter in that suit and for your invention to come alive. You hurdle over Tony, and the only barricade left between you and that dream is Peter’s yes or no.

“We think it’s time for my suit.” You say with as much confidence you can muster, holding your chin up high and staring into his eyes like you’re prepared to scoop out his soul.

Peter’s face drops because of course it does. He breaks eye contact and blinks down at your feet. He’s processing, you can almost hear the gears in his mind turning. You gulp loudly, fidgeting with your fingers that are clasped in front of you.

“Your suit?” He questions, stepping back. The backpack is forgotten, and he’s giving you that ugly stare of confusion and uncertainty. It’s the last thing you wanted right now, but it’s also something you expected.

“Yes. I-Uhm had a discussion with Tony and he agreed that because of how much brutality you go through and how there isn’t a lot of reassurance that you’re going to come back unscathed every time…my design was our best bet at keeping you alive and safe. If this continues to work…we can possibly manipulate the suits healing processes into other Avengers suits.” Before you even finish Peter is pacing, lips held in a tight line and hands running through his hair anxiously. You hate it.

“And Tony agreed to this?” He asked, and you almost wanted to scream into his face. He doesn’t believe you. He needs to know Tony agreed to all this. It’s Tony’s approval or nothing, that’s how Peter’s life works. You’re starting to wonder if this friendship is just because Tony told him to be friends with you since he only ever followed orders from your father

“Yes, yes he did. I didn’t even ask him, he decided on his own my invention was worthy of more trials and now we’re here. We’ve decided that you could probably get the suit on as soon as possible, even to just heal your wounds from the previous actions.”

You make your way towards the door, knowing damn well he’ll at least follow you to your house where Tony has the suit still set up on the mannequin. But he speaks before you can place your hand on the handle, and his words bring some kind of reassurance that he cares back into your mind.

“But what about you? You’re going to be seen as the inventor of this suit, it’s going to get out somehow. You’re going to be a target.”

You look back at him and see he’s right behind you like you thought, but he’s staring at you with those loving eyes, the ones that make you melt and hate yourself for staring at them a little too long.

“Tony has protection plans in store for me, but one thing is for sure, I’m not standing in the shadows any longer. I’ve made that clear.” You give him a cheeky smile and a wink before you make your move back to opening the door and getting you both downstairs and to your car.

-

“Dad!” You call out once you open the front door. You immediately make your way down the steps to the basement, Peter hot on your heels.

You can’t help but smile every time you see your suit on display in the room, there and waiting to be used. It used to be laid out on its charger along the counter like any other tool or chemical, no special plans for it, just bad memories and hard work lost. But now it’s one of the world’s most fascinating pieces of science, ready for combat.

Tony stands near the back where the second room is, the glass wall opened up to view the test area and other computers. He looks up when hearing you both enter, smiling before walking over to Peter and grabbing his shoulders. He checks him over with one long drag of his eyes from his feet to his head. His eyes soften, noticing the pain Peter still is going through.

“Healing?” Tony asks, stepping back to give Peter one last once-over before he moves back towards the suit. He’s taking off the wires you both had connected to computers and batteries, getting ready for the pieces of the puzzle to be connected.

“Y-yeah, getting there.” Peter shrugs, shifting his gaze from Tony to you, back and forth. He looks nervous, similar to when he first came down with you to see the suit. But this time, it wasn’t against Tony’s wishes.

“I know you’ve tried this on before. By the looks of it, when we put this baby back on you, we expect anything left that you’re waiting to be healed by simply your own heightened DNA will be as good as new in under thirty seconds.”

Peter gapes at you both and moves towards the suit as if it was going to blow up. Peter Parker looks scared at something you made with your own two hands, that’s something you never saw coming.

“And I can get back out there?” Peter asks, that makes you smile. It’s really a win-win scenario here. Peter gets to go back swinging around the city, and you get to see your invention finally get properly used.

“Of course. For the first month, we’d like to keep a few monitors on you to make sure everything runs smoothly while you’re in action, you’ll also get a few checkups I’d say…once a week by either one of us to make sure that everything internally is working smoothly.” Peter nods at Tony’s words, now keeping his eyes locked on the suit, staring it down.

“Afterwards, when we know everything is good, we can let you run loose with it.” You conclude. Peter’s response is a silent nod, his hands pressing against the suit so delicately it’s like he’s scared it’s going to shatter.

“Well, kid.” Tony stepped forward, setting his hand down on Peter’s shoulder and giving it one pulse before letting go. It was time, and you turned around to let Peter do his normal routine. It was a struggle, you could hear him wince and groan, but your breath caught in your throat when silence finally blanketed over the lab.

“Ready?” Tony asked, and when you turned around you could see that your father was asking not only Peter but you. His brows were raised, eyes soft as he grabbed for the last plug that would disconnect the suit and allow it to fully become compatible with Peter’s body.

You were frozen in your spot, suddenly feeling way more nervous than you ever were before, almost doubtful it would even work and scared you made some kind of wiring mistake, maybe you accidentally disconnected some cells, or maybe the suit was only a one-hit-wonder, what if the trial with Peter was the only thing that worked.

“Y/N.” Tony’s voice dragged you out of the hole you were digging yourself into, and you stared at his outstretched hand. Realization clicked into place inside your mind that he was giving you the honors, and it made you gulp loudly before forcing your feet to un-stick themselves from the floor to move towards the plug.

“I’ll count to three, and Peter I want to let you know that this is something that will hit your body hard. It won’t feel horrible, but it may feel strange. It’s rapidly reconnecting your cells and anything needing to be healed.” Peter nods at Tony’s warning, shifting his stance and grounding his feet, shoulders growing square and fists tightening.

You made sure Peter shifted his gaze to you, giving you that recognizable smile you loved so much as your queue to unplug the wire.

The suit came to life, soft strings of red light illuminating his form. But the look of the suit was barely able to be processed before Peter let out a gasp, stumbling backward and throwing his hands in front of him, looking at them with wonder in his expression.

“Oh my god.” Peter breathed out, blinking rapidly and mouth gaping opened. You were getting worried and starting to move towards him, Tony mirroring your movements. But you were both stopped by Peter’s hand coming up, shooing you both away.

Your eyes widened when you saw the burns and cuts upon the right side of his face grow smaller and smaller until nothing was left. What looked like white veiny branches surrounded the wounds and then contracted back into his skin once they were healed. You held your breath the whole time it was happening.

His body seemed to loosen up quickly afterward, and Peter took-in one last large breath of air before he met both your eyes.

“Just under 30 seconds.” Tony mumbled, moving his hand up from his side to show the stopwatch in his grip. You blinked in surprise, a smile slowly forming across your face as you squinted at the time that read ‘27 seconds.’

You walked to Peter’s side, a hand slowly moving across his arm and bicep. He didn’t flinch as he would, and you gave his shoulder a hard squeeze which made him chuckle in astonishment. He wasn’t in pain, he was completely healed.

“Peter.” You whispered, and that’s all you could say before you were both grabbing one another into a tight embrace. His hands wrapped around your waist and yours around his neck. You squeezed as hard as you could, burying yourself into his shoulder and letting out a cry of happiness. It worked, and it wasn’t just a small cut that was healed but something that would’ve taken another day or so for his own cells to heal.

You made this.

“How ya’ feeling Parker?” Tony asked, making you and him pull away from each other a little too fast. You saw a blush tainted across Peter’s cheeks, and you couldn’t help the smallest smirk that snuck itself onto your face.

“I feel…amazing.” Peter answered breathlessly, rolling his shoulders and rocking on the balls of his feet. It seemed his energy was back in full swing too. Everything was working out perfectly, too perfect for you to believe. You must be dreaming.

“Alright, well we’re going to do a few more tests on you to make sure that everything is as good as you say before we let you go.” Tony grabbed things from the counter, and you shook yourself out of your daze to gather monitors to settle across Peter’s suit that camouflage enough for them not to be noticeable while he’s out in public.

Peter just stood there silently, watching curiously as you and your father worked fast but diligently around him. It didn’t take long before you and Tony stepped back from his form to smile his way. Everything was complete, and now it was time to bring the suit out across New York State. The world will see it, hopefully soon.

People will notice the new suit too. But not what’s hidden in the stitches, and it makes your heartbeat quicken the smallest bit at the thoughts of what could happen when they find it. They will, at some point, you know this for a fact. Peter’s battles have been on the news a lot ever since Endgame and the blip. People were excited to see the hero back in action, especially as someone deemed the future of the Avengers.

You can imagine it now, the tv playing a scene where Peter gets shot at, just to see him walk off bullets that rain towards his chest. People will be astonished, angry, confused, and probably every other emotion in the human dictionary. And all these emotions will get thrown onto yours, Peter’s, and Tony’s shoulders.

It’ll be huge, questions will be asked about how you created something that was deemed impossible. There will be urges to transform this into DNA for the public, to cure diseases and normal sicknesses and wounds. You’ll have to write speeches, escorted by bodyguards everywhere until the media storm fizzles out.

That’s pretty much all the warnings Tony gave you when you talked to him after dinner the day when he suddenly changed his mind. He hit you with every nightmare you’ve already dreamt of and prepared for yourself, and all he could do was huff with the most amusing smile across his face as he said you were ‘definitely my daughter.’

You were scared, terrified actually. But you weren’t going to be silenced any longer, your talent was going to be used to change the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a comment or kudos please, I'd appreciate it so much!!


	3. you and me

Sitting on your bed a week after releasing Peter out into New York, you never thought you would be this bored.

School was still a thing, online classes were your usual this semester so you generally sat at your desk in your room studying and doing readings for next class. It was so painfully normal and excruciatingly routine that it made your hand want to pull out your own hair and smash your head against the wall a couple of times.

It could've been the slightest bit more eventful. Peter needed his first checkup for his suit and health since the trials into the public, but after a long argument that was unfortunately won by your father, you were forced to take a step back from this.

You should've had more fight in you, but you were easy with Tony since he did help you get this suit to see daylight. Not only that, but let you take credit for the work knowing the consequences. He was probably scared about the first results coming in, scared that if things failed you'd get upset, or maybe he didn't trust you enough to record correct data.

That made your face distort in disgust, not wanting to think of your dad not trusting you with your own invention. It was something that could very well be true, but you deserved a little bit more respect than that. You were an intelligent woman, obviously from what you have successfully created, and you were definitely capable of recording data results.

Your ego was too much like your fathers, and you realized that a long time ago. You couldn't even take the doubts you had about how smart you were.

Or, there was also the other possibility that Tony was scared about you being alone with a boy. That's something you'd also like to avoid thinking about.

A knock on your balcony window made you gasp loudly, almost sending you rolling off your bed and collapsing into a very embarrassing heap on your floor. You stared into the windows from where you sat with wide eyes, thinking of your blaster that laid inside your bedside table. Your body immediately relaxed, though, when you saw flashes of spiderweb stitches, red, and blue.

You scrambled off the bed and swiftly moved towards the doors, opening them and giving Peter a smile as he walked into the room. He waited as you did your normal routine of setting the security system settings and darkening the windows. When that was done he sighed and slipped the mask off his head.

It brought back memories to the last time he was sat in your room. To the way your fingers twitched with the urge to run them through his curls...the fight. God, emotions.

"Does this mean it's my turn to do your checkup?" You ask, trying to distract yourself from the thoughts plaguing your mind. Peter sat himself down on your bed, turning over the mask in his grip and staring at your desk across the room where your laptop was still opened to History homework.

"Thought I'd swing in, it was weird knocking on your front door last week. Usually-"

"Usually this is your main entrance." You finish his sentence, nodding your head cheekily towards your balcony doors. He seemed to blush at that, letting out a short and soft chuckle. He fondled the mask in his hands once more before stretching out his arm, allowing you to take it.

"I thought you were just trying to get me to like it more but...you're right about this mask, it's way easier to breathe in." He mumbles, and you allow your fingers to dance along with the fabric and feel every bump of the web stitches. It still felt new and unscathed, the crimes must've either been low or he's not interested in the big fights right now.

"I would be offended at your lack of trust, but I'm just too happy to see that I'm right in the end." He lets out a loud laugh at that, and you throw him back the mask after checking the inside of it and making sure the sensors were still working.

"So...should we go downstairs to the lab?" Peter asks after the laughs die down back into a comfortable silence. You can see he's still a bit fidgety, but he has always been restless and unable to stay still. This time, though, you notice it a bit more than usual. It seems you're analyzing him a bit too much.

You shrug your shoulders at his question, moving towards your laptop and exiting out of your homework tabs. "I can just hook you up to the system I have up here. Come on, Parker, you should know I have my lab work with me everywhere I go, even if it's in the same house."

He raises his hands up in surrender with a large and beaming smile twisted around his face. You had to turn away from it as if it was too bright.

"Tony told me that everything went well during the first checkup. He didn't really tell me much, but usually, silence means it's fine with him. Am I correct about that?" You ask, still leaned down into your laptop and opening new tabs, clicking away at the keyboard.

"Yea, it was kinda boring actually. He just checked over my wounds, asked me some questions about how I'm feeling and what I did in the suit."

You nodded and moved away from your desk. Now was the slightly awkward part and something that you've thought about a little too extensively. You know you would have to feel around Peter's suit, test sensors and monitors to make sure they were working, feel the parts that were injured during the last accident to make sure they haven't returned, worsed, or have anything strange added to them. This was something that required time with and without the suit on.

Peter Parker was going to have to be half-naked in your bedroom, but that was something that you realized was just going to have to be part of the job. No feelings attached, just a professional medical checkup.

God, you wonder what your father would've done if you told him that Peter was at the house. Probably only let you do the computer testing and questions and force you out afterward. But this is your invention, your first piece of work, you have the right to review what it's like after finally being exposed to the public.

"I'm sure you remember, but I'm gonna need to examine you in and out of the suit. First the suit for damage and to make sure the censors are still connected with your DNA cells, then without the suit to check your past wounds and uhm...make sure the suit is regenerating your body the way it's supposed to."

He nodded quietly, shifting on the bed and fidgeting with his fingers. He didn't look at you as you splayed your hand along his right bicep, standing in front of him where he sat. You squeezed at the muscle, moving down to the lower arm and back up to the shoulder. Your eyes would glance over to the computer, making sure there was no spike of activity or signs for concern.

One thing the monitor did catch was his very fast heartbeat. He was nervous, stiff, and sweating from what you could see when you glanced down at him.

It made you feel strange, the way Peter was acting. It made your heartbeat rise as you moved to his left side and did the same thing. You almost felt like your hearts were clashing against one another. Battling and pulsing as fast as they could to see who was the most anxious.

Your computer made a sudden soft beeping sound, and when you both whipped your heads to it, you could see his heartbeat monitor was highlighted in red across the screen. It was at it's highest peak. It seems he won that competition.

"You-your heartbeat is spiking. Do you need a break?" You ask, stepping back from him but flinch in surprise when he whips his hand out to grip loosely at your wrist.

"No I'm fine, it was like this with Tony too I'm just...not used to this."

He still wasn't meeting your eyes, but his hand still gripped your wrist and lightly tugged you back towards him. It was such a soft grip but it felt like your skin was on fire once he let go.

"Aright." You reply simply, moving towards his chest and placing pressure on his pecks and collarbones. Your hands moved to his neck, cupping each side of it and placing pressure on it again, running the pads of your thumbs along the front of his throat and softly moving overtop of his Adam's apple.

You didn't even realize you weren't even checking the screen anymore, just staring down into him, so close you could feel his breath against your stomach.

It was when he looked up, brown glassy eyes meeting yours. This is what hypnotized you the most, making your hands move up his neck to his jaw. You took-in a deep breath, eyes widening when he stood up from the bed and once again towered over you.

Your hands were still along his jaw, the tips of your fingers playing with his hair and your thumbs moving to softly caress his bottom lip. His hands met your biceps, cupping your elbows as he pulled you in.

It was breath to breath and heart to heart. You could hear Peter's heart monitor going crazy behind you both, but it was just white noise as you both leaned into one another. You felt his lips graze yours, your noses bump together and making you pull apart the slightest bit.

This was definitely not professional.

"Parker."

The low and monotone voice of Tony Stark echoed throughout your bedroom and you never stepped away so fast. Peter had fallen back onto your bed in surprise and had almost tumbled to the ground if he didn't grip your mattress.

Your dad was standing at your door, facial expression unreadable but eyes dark as he stared at Peter and only Peter. Your whole body was pressed against your desk, the edge of it cutting into your back and palms pressed onto the top of it. You were treating your dad as if he was a T-Rex, maybe if you didn't move he would never notice you were there. But that was false hope, obviously.

"Mr. Stark I-"

"I'll finish the rest of your analysis down in the lab." Tony didn't allow Peter to speak, only interrupting him with that hot glare still embedded into his eyes as he moved away from the bedroom door, gesturing through it to Peter.

He still didn't look at you. It was only Peter who flickered his scared gaze towards you and bit at his bottom lip hard before he stood up, grabbed at his mask, and then walked as if he was on top of eggshells out of the room.

The door closed behind them both, and now you were basking in the silence of your own room. You loathed what was coming for you.

-

You were sat outside on your balcony, only socks on your feet and a sweater on as you leaned over the railing and glared beyond the city lights. You were cold, that was for sure, but it was a good feeling and it distracted you from the flooded thoughts in your brain.

Tony had to be finished with Peter by now, it had been an hour or so since the incident and not even Pepper has come up to your room. It's like Tony wanted to suffocate you with your own conscience before coming face to face.

There was a part of you that wanted to see Peter swing away from your house, to see the mix of blue, red, black, and white whiz past you and into the beyond. It would tame your bad feelings down a bit, to know that Tony didn't kill him for this.

You weren't going to mention the even stronger desire that you made sure to deepen and bury harshly into your mind. The way you wanted Peter back in your room, the need for him back in your arms, to be in his.

You shook your head, trying to loosen those thoughts out from the front of your brain. Your hands tightened against the railing, you almost felt in pain with all the feelings that overwhelmed you. It felt too much, it felt wrong.

"You never seem to lock me out of your room, even though you know damn well how to." It was Tony's voice, and you barely gave him a glance over your shoulder before you turned back to the city.

"I see no point, you'll find a way in even if I did lock the door." You mumbled, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath when a breeze brushed itself into your face.

"You're right, I would." Tony answered bluntly, now making his way beside you. He leaned his elbows along the railing just like you did, interchanging his gaze from you to the city lights a couple of times before speaking again.

"Remember our conversation a week or so ago?"

"Yes."

"How we agreed that you would own this project but I'd aid you through the majority of the trials and training. How this isn't child's play anymore?"

You scoffed at 'child's play,' shifting away from him and the railing. You crossed your arms and stared off the side of the balcony instead.

"We made a deal, correct?" Tony was putting pressure against the nerves he knew would set you off, his presence felt like a hot iron ready to brand your skin. You could feel the anger radiating off him.

"Yes, we did. And I don't recall breaking any of the rules." You shot back, whipping your head towards him and glaring into his eyes. You kept a hold on his gaze as you turned to face him, arms folded across your chest.

Tony didn't look impressed with your reply. He shook his head at you, looking so disappointed and tired.

"I think you know exactly what I'm angry about, what is causing me to do this." You rose a brow at his words, feeling your body tense and get prepared for the blow destined to come.

"Causing you to do...what exactly?" You ask, but really you didn't want to know. You wished you could be Peter right now and just spin out a web, grab onto a building and whisk yourself away from your problems.

"You're not allowed to be involved with any of the checkups that Peter will be going through. All the trials will be done by me until I can trust you. If I need your help with anything I'll ask for it after Peter leaves and is done with his examination."

"Dad!" You yelp out, stepping forward with your hands thrown up in the air in defeat. How dare he take your invention from your own hands. The way he lied to your face and told you this was a 'partnership' but instead you're pushed away from something that meant the world to you.

"You can't do this, you can't just take what isn't yours. This is my project, my hard work, but because Peter and I got closer you're shutting me out?!" You scream, not caring that people may hear you both, or that Pepper might come into this conversation telling you both to calm down. Right now, you need your father to hear you, and he has blocked your desires out from his mind for way too long.

"I honestly don't care what is yours. I told you the risks and how this suit can give you too much attention and how you could get hurt. But now you're kissing Spider-Man in your bedroom? How big of a target do you want on your back, Y/N?"

Tears started to swim in your eyes, you could feel them start to overflow onto your cheeks and make pathways down your face. You hoped Tony saw them, you hoped he felt horrible.

"Get out of my room." You shove a finger towards your bedroom door. You tried to hold in the sobs bubbling in your throat, but you felt so drained. 

With squared shoulders and that same hard expression, Tony spun on his heels and walked out of the balcony towards your door. You followed, sniffling and letting out small sobs that snuck out between your lips as you watched him make his way out.

He grabbed at the door handle and paused. Your fists tightened at your sides at this, wanting him to get going so you can punch something and scream.

You saw a shadow of guilt across his face that was only seen for a split second, just enough for you to shake your head and turn away. It was then that you heard the door open and his footsteps leave the room.

It was when the sound of the door clicking shut rung across your room that you let the dam's break. Every shield you held over those emotions, every weapon held high to defeat those demons inside your brain, anything that kept you from being immune to these feelings you tried to bottle up, came rushing over-top of you.

You screamed, grabbing at your desk lamp and throwing it across the room. It crashed into the balcony where the doors were still held opened, smashing into pieces against the railing and falling half onto the ground and the other half crumbling down below.

The light flickered and burnt out, and that was a great metaphor for how you were feeling right now.

"What the hell happened Tony?!" Your mother's voice echoed throughout the house, seeping through the cracks in your door and making it's way to your ears. You listened carefully, crying softly with your eyes still glued to the damage you've done.

"She's too young to be doing any of this. I gave her a chance and she blew it!" A sob ripped through your throat at your father's words, the venom that dripped from them and the way he didn't care that you could possibly hear him.

"Because she has a teenaged crush on Peter you're blocking her out of her own project? Really, Tony?" Pepper sounded tired, and you were sure she was. It must've been a breath of fresh air to have seen her daughter and husband finally getting along. But that was short-lived.

"If it's getting in-between her and her work as well as Peter's...then yes, this is the only way Pepper." His voice broke at the end, you wished he could feel the pain you were going through too.

"Is she ever able to fall in love?"

Pepper's question had the house in silence, and all that was heard was your sniffles.

"Just...not with him-not with someone who could put her in danger too."

That made you scream again, your hands throwing themselves at your bedroom door. You pounded them against it, throwing them against it so hard you could feel the bruises and cuts forming on your knuckles.

"I hate you! I hate how you control me like I'm some pet instead of your own fucking daughter!" Your throat felt like it was ripping in two with how loud you screeched the words out from your lips. You wanted them to shoot daggers into your father's reactor, to crush whatever heart he had left.

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"

The door opened so fast you fell backward onto the floor. You scrambled onto your hands to prepare for whatever was coming next, but you just saw a fast movement of dirty blonde hair before you were embraced by Pepper. She hugged you so tight you had to gasp, your arms coming up to hug around her shoulders.

"It's okay, you'll be okay." She whispered into your ear as you sobbed into her throat.

You didn't stop, crying until you felt your cheeks run dry and your throat pulse in pain. Pepper never failed to let you go, her embrace warm and protective and solid as you laid your heart out for her.

"Why doesn't he want me to be him?" You whisper the question after what felt like forever of you crying.

"It's cause he doesn't like himself." Pepper whispers back in reply.

All you can do is squeeze your eyes shut at her answer and bury yourself further into her body.

\- 

Weeks went by and you kept yourself away from Tony and Peter. The only person that you allowed into the walls you rebuilt around yourself was Pepper. She would knock softly on your bedroom door once you rushed back up the stairs after dinner to avoid conversation with Tony. You'd let her in and her time spent in your room was mostly talking about school or things that you and her could do together. She even suggested you both get away from everything for a week, Fiji sounded great.

That's what got you through this mess and tamed the battle in your mind. Her soft voice and careful touch kept you sane.

It's not like Tony didn't try to talk to you, the second week of your silent treatment he had come upstairs and would just stand at your door for a minute or so before leaving. You would hold your breath when noticing the shadows of his feet under the door, and it's almost like he could hear your prayers about leaving you alone.

Dinner was when he would try and create small-talk, but you could only take so many attempts before you'd get up and dump whatever was left on your plate in the garbage before rushing back upstairs. He didn't deserve your attention, and besides, he had a new invention to worry about.

It should be really sad, to see a daughter and father's relationship crumble to nothing but rubble with nothing left salvageable. But you saw it as something that was bound to happen, something so very certain in your future.

Tony wasn't going to change.

You huffed and ran your fingers through your hair, allowing them to tug at any knots that were in their way. It hurt and made you wince, but it was a relief to focus on that rather than the thoughts clouding your brain.

It was dark and your brain was mush after studying for your Chemistry test that was going to be in a week. You were at the point of just staring blankly at your computer screen, blinking at the words on the screen that became just blurred lines.

Your legs forced themselves up, getting you out of the chair and thrown into your bed. The bed was warm with the amount of time you've spent on it. You snuggled into your covers and pillows, trying to fall asleep before your mind took ahold of you again. You stared at the moonlight shining through the windows of your balcony doors and allowed them to sooth you before you closed your eyes.

But they were barely closed before you heard a thunk from outside and the whip of webs getting stuck onto something. You almost threw yourself upwards, but you stayed still and squinted one eye open.

You could see Peter's suit and it's silhouette outside, outlined by the soft grey moonlight. He was watching you silently, mask on and spider eyes narrowing towards your form on the bed.

He didn't make a move to open the door, nor did he whisper your name or knock. It was all the things that you expected, but instead, he cursed under his breath and turned around to face the railing. Peter was fighting with himself, or more, with whatever Tony had told him to do or not do.

You decided to wait and stay still, slowly shifting your body to get a better view of his form. You could see he was staring off into the night, thinking. Even with the god damn mask on, you could tell that boy was fighting something in that head of his.

It startled you when Peter whipped back around and you closed your eyes and held your breath. You counted to five until you cracked them open again, seeing Peter still staring through the window at you, his chest breathing slowly and his hands fidgeting together in front of him.

But then one of them came up and pressed against the glass, a gloved thumb caressing the window as he looked at you. It shocked you and made your heart stop. You felt sick, and now all you wanted to do was run into his arms and tell him you'll both be okay.

Your thought didn't even finish before Peter was quickly pulling his hand from the glass and spinning a web towards the city. You sat up straight with a small gasp, but he didn't notice your form as he threw himself off the balcony and swung off into New York.

At the time you didn't think anything of it, there were only hopeful thoughts that things would be okay, that everything will get better again.

You didn't realize it would be two years later when you'd realize just how in love you were with Peter Parker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve got chapter four written up as well, so if this gets some love I may post it next week. Let me know your thoughts :)

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed, chapter two is even longer so get ready.


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